


Code Chobi

by AstroLatte



Category: Dragon Ball
Genre: Awkward Flirting, Awkward Sexual Situations, Drama, Drama & Romance, Erasa is the best, F/M, Fake/Pretend Relationship, First Love, Friends to Lovers, Gohan is emotional, Masturbation, Romance, Sharpner is a total douche, Teen Angst, Teen Romance, Teenage Dorks, Teenagers, Unresolved Romantic Tension, Videl kicks ass
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-09-05
Updated: 2018-01-29
Packaged: 2018-04-19 05:17:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 20,469
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4734062
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AstroLatte/pseuds/AstroLatte
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Gohan is used to not letting anyone in and Videl is used to pushing everyone away. After the Earth is saved from Buu, everyone thought they were already dating - except them.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

Videl landed on Mount Paozu with a light thud, her boots already covered in the morning dew. It was still early, but she smelled Chichi already cooking something delicious in the kitchen on the other side of the Son home. Checking her watch again, she made her way to Gohan’s window and stood on her tiptoes to get a glimpse of the teenager sprawled in his bed, still dead asleep.

“Psst!” she hissed, knocking on the window with her knuckles. “Gohan!”

In his sleep Gohan groaned, turning on his side to snuggle deeper into his pillow. Frowning, Videl briefly considered walking a room over to enlist Goten in helping wake up the tall teen. She sighed, knowing instantly what a headache that would instantly become, as Goten had more energy in the morning than the sun.

The whole point of her coming out early was to avoid the rest of the Son family, not that she had anything against them. In fact, they had invited her into their lives so easily and warmly that it was hard to believe that her and Chichi initially started off on the wrong foot. But this was different - for once she wanted Gohan to herself and she knew when competing in the hustle of a house full of Saiyans, stealth was her only option.

She tried knocking again, but it was hopeless. He was out like a light. Considering he was one of the strongest people on the planet, it was refreshing to see that he also succumbed to lazy Sundays like normal people.

“Sorry for the intrusion,” Videl said, eyeing the lock on his window.

Hovering slowly, Videl jingled the old cement window until it became unstuck from its lock. Peering over the edge, she was unsurprised to see Gohan still snoring away. She rolled her eyes, sliding the window open to as far as it could go before shimming herself through. Her legs were just about through when she heard Gohan’s snores suddenly stop. Freezing in place, she balanced herself on her stomach, hovering awkwardly above her friend’s bed.

“Uh…” Gohan groaned, sitting up and nearly missing Videl’s blushing face by a few inches as he yawned. Still trying to play it cool, the girl remained still as the other teen rubbed his eyes free of gunk. It was a few moments before he turned around and was nose-to-nose with Videl.

“Vi-Videl?!”

“Um...hi, Gohan!” Videl laughed awkwardly as the teen’s face drained of color and was replaced with a deep blush. “Remember when you said you’d teach me how to form ki blasts? Well, here I- ACK!”

Feeling the strain of balancing herself, Videl lost her poise and fell face-first into Gohan’s bed with a heavy squeak of the bedsprings.

“Videl!” Gohan whispered harshly, trying to pull the girl up from bedding to face him. “What are you doing here?”

“You said you’d teach me ki blasts if I came by today!”

“I didn't mean my bedroom!”

“I tried to knock but you were passed out!” she whispered back, holding herself up on her forearms so she was face-to-face with the teen, her arms on either side of his torso.After a second of thought, she realized just why Gohan was so red at the start of their encounter.

He was currently dressed only in his boxers.

Blushing herself, she pulled herself away and scurried to the foot of the bed.

“Gohan?” came Chichi’s voice from the hallway and Gohan’s mouth instantly slack-jawed. “Are you alright? What’s all that noise?”

Videl covered her mouth with her hands, her blue eyes meeting Gohan's full of panic. Clearing his voice loudly, the teen turned towards his bedroom door.

“N-n-nothing, mom!" Gohan’s voice cracked. "I just...stubbed my toe when I got outta bed."

"Well be careful!" Chichi's voice carried down the hall as she returned to the kitchen. "Teenagers..."

Once they were sure Chichi was out of earshot, Gohan turned to Videl looking exasperated.

"Well, I guess we can't leave this room without my mom suspecting something,” he said, sitting up with a look of defeat. “If you head back out, I’ll meet you in woods and we can train.”

Videl eyed him suspiciously, sitting up on her knees as she peered down at Gohan who was still trying to cover himself with his blanket. While she trusted him not to lie to her, Videl knew that Gohan was prone to getting distracted by his family. It was exactly why she had decided to corner him in the first place. After a moment, she let out a sigh.

“Alright, but don’t take too long,” she said, climbing out of the window far more gracefully than she came in. “I’ll be waiting!”

Landing on the grass, Videl shielded the sun from her eyes as she found a grassy area to sit and enjoy the morning shade. Running her fingers through the grass, she played with the fallen leaves before wiping the dew on her leggings.

Compared to Satan City, Mount Paozu was like an oasis away from the hustle and bustle of urban life. School had yet to be reopened from the battle against Majin Buu, but the students of Orange Star High received notice that classes would resume that following Monday. While Videl would’ve liked a better reason for classes to be cancelled than the threat of the end of the world, she couldn’t help but feel spoiled by the extended time with the Son Family she was able to spend during their recess.

Asides from Gohan, Videl hadn’t been keeping in touch with the rest of her classmates. Although Erasa would sent her the occasional text of “what’s up!” she had a feeling that after everything that happened at the World Tournament it was hard to pretend that everything was normal. Chewing on her bottom lip, Videl felt an unfamiliar twinge of nervousness at the thought of facing her classmates.

Was this what Gohan had been trying to avoid his first few months at Orange Star High?

  
Suddenly Videl’s nervousness transformed into guilt as the heaviness of her actions sunk in. Knowing what she did now, looking back at her relentlessly stalking and eventual blackmail during their early school days together seemed so cruel. Even now she had intruded on him in his home, waking him up as he rested on the weekend, probably just as worried - if not more - about how their classmates would treat him on Monday. And here she was, selfishly demanding he teach her more fighting techniques.

“Ah, there you are!” she heard Gohan’s cheery voice from behind her as he climbed over a log. She turned around and was met with his smiling face as he rubbed the back of his neck with a chuckle. “Sorry, I had a hard time finding my training gi.”

Swallowing hard, Videl stood slowly. In her head she tried to piece together an excuse to leave early as Gohan continued to ramble about his mother doing laundry and misplacing his training outfit.

"Hey...are you okay? "

Videl looked up to see that Gohan was standing over her, his dark eyes filled with concern. She instantly felt her face warm even though his tall stature blocked the sun.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” she said, turning away hurriedly to hide her blush as she walked deeper into the clearing. “Let’s get started already.”

They walked in silence to the middle of grassy area, away from the shades of the trees. For some reason, Videl felt that the sun rays made a good sitting spot for learning how to harness energy. Sitting down crossed-legged, she fought the urge to squint as Gohan sat across from her.

“Alright, so,” he exhaled as he placed his hands in front of him in the same fashion he did when first explaining ki to her. “Harnessing ki-energy to fire energy blasts is not that much different that using it to fly. The main difference is that you’re going to need to pull that energy outside of yourself to unleash it on your enemies as an attack. Does that make sense?

He looked up at her with a small smile and Videl felt herself get warm again.

“So...” she said slowly, focusing on his hands instead of his smile. “I just need to pull the same energy I’ve been using to levitate myself out as an attack?”

“Don’t think of it as an attack, though,” Gohan said as a tiny warm ball of orange light emerged from between his palms. “Ki is part of yourself, so it can do anything you want it to do. Sure, it can be harnessed as a powerful energy beam attack like the Kamehameha wave, but it can also be used to warm yourself in a freezing environment or gage someone’s power level.”

"Or read someone's life force..." Videl said, absentmindedly. There was a pause between them before she looked up from the orange ball to Gohan. "Krillin told me that's why they thought you'd been killed...because they couldn't read your ki-energy."

Videl saw Gohan swallow hard, which made her stomach twist. Maybe it was still too soon to bring up anything from Buu just yet...

"Anyway," Gohan finally said, the ball of energy flickering between his palms like a candle's flame. "Do you think you understand the basics of ki? It'll make harnessing it easier."

"Uh..yeah, I think so." Videl nodded, happy to be off the topic of bad memories. "What's next?"

"Now, we pass it!" Gohan smiled as the orange ball of energy slowly moved away from his hands towards Videl's. "Don't drop it now!"

"Um, r-right!" Videl stammered, holding her hands out in front of her. She narrowed her eyes as she focused, hearing Gohan's instructions to concentrate her energy into her hands. As the ball's warmth reached her hands, her own energy mixed with Gohan's allowing herself to catch it. Instantly, the small ball of light grew, its fiery light dancing off her skin.

"I did it!" she breathed into an airy laugh, looking up to catch Gohan looking at her with a small smile. "So I just push this back to you, right?"

Gohan nodded and she complied, though the energy ball did not grow during their pass back it did teach Videl the basics in moving ki out of her body and towards a target. They continued to pass it back and forth, like a game of catch, in comfortable silence.

"Hey Gohan..." Videl started, her focus still on the ki-energy that was making it's way towards her more quickly. "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure, anything. What's up?"

"Well...I..." Videl started, but stopped when the ki-ball reached her hands. She looked down and focused on the ball, worrying her lip. "I just wanted to apologize for everything I put you through when we first met at Orange Star. Like...blackmailing you to join the tournament and everything."

"Videl..." Gohan said in a tone that she instantly recognized as him trying to tell her not to worry about it. He had used the same tone when she first fretted over the news of her father taking his glory of beating Cell.

"No, I know what you're going to say, but it's not okay," she asserted and he instantly sat up a little straighter. "I shouldn't have treated you that way, even if it did mean I got to know you better..."

They both blushed at this and Videl felt the ki-energy in her hands get a little warmer.

"Anyway, I just wanted to tell you that I'm sorry," she finished, staring at the other teen as she pushed the ball back to Gohan. "I hope you can forgive my selfishness."

"Nope." Gohan said and Videl's thoughts skipped like a record.

"Excuse me?"

"I don't accept your apology," he explained as he caught the ki-energy ball between his hands again. The hue of the orb gave Gohan a tan hue as it reflected off his skin.

"Why not?"

"Because I'm not sorry I met you," he said simply, staring at her as the ball of energy began to flicker again. "Even if it was under strange circumstances, I never met anyone like you before and I don't think I ever would. You pulled me out of my shell and - quite literally - unmasked me and pushed me to be honest about myself. It's really refreshing to have a friend who pushes me like do you, Videl."

Videl's heart skipped two beats.

A friend.

She looked down at her empty hands, already cold from the lack of warmth. Although Gohan's words had eased her mind of her earlier worries, it planted seeds of a different kind. Instantly she felt a familiar barricade take guard around her heart.

"Well, if that's the case,then you're welcome," she smirked, hands outstretched as Gohan passed the ball back towards her. "Maybe now you'll start taking our training sessions more seriously since you know how determined I am!"

Quickly Gohan's eyebrows rose as his mouth opened to say something, but it was too late. As Videl was talking, she had lost her concentration and the ki-energy flew from her hands and blasted into the adjacent tree, charring its bark. Videl felt her stomach drop, turning slowly to the other teen as Gohan bursted into a fit of laughter.

"Don't laugh!" she scolded, cheeks pink. "It's not like I meant to hit the tree!"

"I'm sorry!" Gohan managed, trying to hide his laughter behind his hand. "I'm sorry, but your face was really c-"

He stopped, turning away instantly the hide his face. Videl rose an eyebrow.

"Really what?" she demanded, scowling in his direction. "My face was really WHAT?"

"N-n-nothing!" he squeaked, hands in front of him again. "Let's try it again!"


	2. Chapter 2

The morning light creeped into Gohan’s bedroom after he was already awake. Turning away from the rays, the teenager stared at the white paint on his bedroom wall. After sixteen years in use, the paint was beginning to chip away in small specs. His fuzzy, sleep soggy brain remembers his mother ordering his father to repaint the bedrooms after his younger brother moved into the smaller room down the hall. Though it wasn’t unlike his father to casually forget things like chores.

In fact, it was absolutely in-character for Goku to blow off anything and everything for a good training session.

Gohan’s mind wandered to the day before, his eyes unconsciously rolling up towards the window where Videl had squeezed herself through the day before. He knew she wasn’t coming by today as she was forced to spend the day at some function with her father.

It was easy for him to forget that under all that strength and tough-girl attitude, Videl Satan was still a 17 year-old girl stuck going to gatherings because of her family. He smiled at the thought of her, who just yesterday managed to take out half the field with a ki-beam, dressed in a formal dress and making small-talk at a banquet as they ate caviar with tiny forks.

Gohan felt his stomach drop slightly as he thought back to their training days earlier. He had pretended to not notice, but he had saw the look Videl gave him when he referred to her as “a friend” and couldn’t quell the sense of uneasiness it brought. It wasn’t by mistake that he had used that word, though he was surprised by just how obvious she had been with her discomfort. He sighed, rolling onto his back as the sun’s rays warmed his face from the window. Gohan covered his eyes with his forearm, trying to untangle his complicated feelings into something he could handle.

He thought back to the Videl he had first met at Orange Star High, who was pushy, bossy and assertive to a fault. It was easy enough to distance himself from her then, but it seemed that their paths were always crossing. When she eventually unmasked him as Great Saiyaman, he was confused by the sense of relief it brought him. He figured it was because the silly game of cat and mouse was over, and he could continue to protect Satan City without Videl snapping at his heels.

It wasn’t until he began teaching her how to fly that he started to see her at a real person and not just another face in humanity. Her pushy attitude made its way all the way to Mount Paozu. Though it appeared to disappear when she cut her long, ebony locks into a short pixie cut that brought out the ice blue eyes that gave him chills.

She thawed like snow, revealing to him her frustrations with her father and her sadness about her mother. When she had sat on the grass with him in one of the many fields that surrounded the mountain, Goten whizzing above them like an airplane, she looked at him with those eyes and he almost told her everything. About where their father really was, about Cell, about himself - but he lied. It was easier to lie and even when he eventually apologized for it and told her some truth, he kept himself closed from her. He told himself it was safer because being with her would be dangerous because he could be dangerous. It didn’t stop a small monster within his chest to grow, however, constantly roaring for him to be near her. To look at her in the eyes and hissing whenever he pushed himself away.

Gohan closed his eyes and instantly his mind went back to those eyes, her face, her lips. He felt the hungry monster in his chest slither down and manifest into familiar warmth below his navel and turned into the nook of his arm to catch a glimpse of his door.

Good, it was locked and by the ki-leves of his family everyone was still asleep.

Closing his eyes again, his free hand made its way down and under his boxers as he took hold of himself beneath his comforter. He gritted his teeth as his mind went back to those pale blue eyes, the way they stared at him with so much love and adoration when he snuck up behind her at Kami’s Palace. The way they narrowed when she knew he was lying, but wouldn’t call him out on it. He sighed heavily when he thought to how she’d instead pout at him.

Her mouth was a fascination to him as he pictured himself covering it with his own, urging it open by nibbling on her lower lip like he had seen her do a thousand times when nervous. His blood boiled when he pictured her lips covering him entirely, like he had seen the girls in Master Roshi’s magazines do when he was too young to understand what he was looking at.

She was on top of him now, sitting in his lap with her arms wrapped around his neck as she whispered his name into his ear. Groaning into his arm, he quickened his pace as he thought of her, wanting her, fascinated her in a way that wasn’t degrading but full of the passion that he feared to allow himself in reality.

Gohan bit his arm as he finished, the monster within him roaring as he made a mess of his boxers, hips bucking against his comforter lewdly as he rode his orgasm to the end. Panting softly, the monster slithered back up to his heart, where it laid dormant for the time being.

Going back to sleep was tempting, but he felt sticky and hot under the covers. Kicking them off, he made his way out of his bed and prepared to take a shower.

Maybe it could wash off the sinking feeling he had in his stomach.

* * *

The rest of the day went as usual as it could in the Son household. Still getting used to being a family of four, Chichi continued to outdo herself with meals. Gohan could tell that having their father back lifted their mother’s spirits, even if she easily slipped back into her role of nagging Goku to do chores and help around the house. Goten, having never seen their parents interact, would often get nervous by these exchanges.

“I don’t like when Mom yells,” he had confided in Gohan after he had helped him that day’s math homework. “It’s not like how Bulma and Vegeta sometimes argue, cause Trunks says they make up after.”

“Mom and Dad make up, too,” Gohan explained, smiling reassuringly to ease his brother’s worries. “It’s just how they are, you don’t need to worry about it.”

Goten nodded slowly before going back to memorizing his multiplication tables.

After dinner was finished, Gohan was the first to stand up from his meal.

“I got dishes,” the teen assures his mother with a smile before she could even open her mouth to ask their father to do so. “Dinner was great!”

“Yeah, the best!” Goten echoed, jumping behind his brother to help. He took as much as his tiny arms could hold as he followed Gohan to the sink. “Daddy, you wanna help too?”

“Sure!” Goku grinned, patting his stomach before leaning over to peck Chichi on the cheek in appreciation.

“Oh...thank you, boys,” she smiled, hiding her blush as Goku hurried to Gohan’s side to help him dry the dishes.

Gohan smiled to himself as Goten chatted excitedly to Goku about the lizards he found in the forest today as they gathered the remaining bowls from the table. If he was good at anything, it was keeping the peace.

“Hey Gohan, isn’t that your phone ringing?”

Goku’s question ripped the teen from his thoughts. Looking over to the other end of the counter, Gohan saw the small device that Bulma had given him for his birthday vibrate with the name “Videl” flashing.

“Ah, I got it!” Gohan flushed, trying to free his soapy hands from the sink before Goten propelled himself from the other side of the kitchen to grab it. Goku moved out of the way skillfully, grabbing his younger son by the back of the shirt to finish the dishes while Gohan answered with a cracked, “Hello?”

“Hey! It’s me,” Videl’s voice traveled through the speaker and Gohan felt the monster awaken in his chest. “Is now a good time?”

“Uh yeah...hold on,” Gohan said, walking out of the kitchen and into the backyard of the house. “Sorry, we just finished dinner so it’s kinda loud in my house.”

He heard her laugh and the monster purred.

“I can imagine...sorry for calling so late. It’s just...there was something on my mind that I wanted to talk to you about.”

“What is it? Is everything alright?”

“No, yeah it’s fine. It’s really not a big deal now that I have you on the phone,” she paused and Gohan knew on the other end of the line she was chewing her lip again. He glanced down at his watch.

“Hey, are you home right now?” he asked.

“Uh...yeah….why?”

“I’ll be there in five.”

“W-what? Five minutes? Gohan!” she called as he clicked the “end call” button.

Leaning into the door, he called into the house that he was going to Videl’s before zooming off into the night sky.

Gohan was actually two minutes short, as he landed on Videl’s balcony three minutes after their call - a new personal best for him. He was barely done knocking on the window when Videl pulled back the glass door, revealing herself in her oversized Satan City t-shirt and shorts. Her face looked raw from trying to scrub off the mascara and lipstick she was wearing earlier that day, giving her cheeks an extra rosy look.

“You didn’t have to come here,” she sighed, crossing her arms over her chest as she leaned against the glass. “Now I feel super silly.”

“You seemed upset,” he shrugged. “Plus I’ve been inside all day studying and needed the exercise.”

“Ugh, I can’t believe you study even when we don’t have homework,” she shook her head, but Gohan sensed the teasing tone in her voice. “C’mon, let’s take this to the roof. Daddy’s out mingling with the social elite, so we won’t get in trouble.”

Gohan nodded slowly, watching as the girl levitated slowly before bursting to the roof quickly. He followed easily enough, taking a seat next to her cross-legged on the roof of Satan Mansion. The warm night air blew around them as the lights of the city twinkled like that stars that decorated the mountains. He felt the monster growl in his chest, urging them to put his arm around the girl next to him since she must be chilly in her t-shirt and shorts. Swallowed back the urge, he fixated his gaze on the street lights across the street from the estate.

“You’re getting better at controlling your ki,” he said awkwardly. “Have you been practicing?”

“Yeah!” she grinned, looking down at her hands. “I got up early this morning to work on gathering  ki consistently. It’s hard to keep it steady, though, but I think I’ll get there.”

“You will,” Gohan assured, turning to her with a smile grin as she nodded. They sat in silence, which Gohan found to be comfortable until the feeling in his chest came back. “So...what is it that you wanted to talk to me about?”

Videl groaned, blushing as she pulled her legs up into her chest and rested her chin on her knee. He rose an eyebrow at her, confused by her uneasiness. She wasn’t the type of person who wilted or became bashful.

“I was thinking about you today,” she said and the monster inside him roared. “About how sometimes I say things that make you uncomfortable or I accidentally ask questions that cross the line.”

Gohan felt his ears warm and before he knew it, he was babbling.

“Um...that’s not your fault, though!” he stammered as she slowly panned a look his way. “Of course you have questions! My life is pretty...well...strange if you didn’t already know! The fact that you even care enough to ask and still hang around me is testament to how amazing of a person who are!”

She stared at him and nervously Gohan kept going.

“I mean even after you found out about my powers and saw what we were capable of at the tournament, you still stuck by me! And during the fight with Buu you were there with my family instead of leaving! And you were the first person I saw when I came back which was amazing because it was like you never left me and I lo-”

Gohan snapped his mouth shut instantly as the monster in his chest hissed and roared against his ribcage. Videl’s eyes widened and he felt his heart threaten to beat itself out of his body and land between them on the gritty roof.

She raised her eyebrow at him and he blushed crimson, turning away quickly, “A-anyway...yeah.”

“That’s what I mean,” she sighed, looking away. “I feel like there’s a lot about you that you’re just not ready to share yet, Gohan. I want to know eventually, but I don’t want you to feel like I’m pressuring you to open up...so I came up with an idea.”

They both turned back to the other, starting intensely as the night breeze whirled pass them. Gohan blinked as Videl opened her mouth.

“A safeword.”

Gohan felt his entire body heat up, as if Videl had just picked him up and thrown him into a volcano. He had only heard of the term in one particular context and was sure that there was no way that’s what she meant.

Unless she did…

“NOT LIKE THAT, YOU PERVERT!” Videl yelled, punching him in the arm hard enough to actually hurt a little. “I MEANT LIKE A CODEWORD TO SAY INSTEAD OF HAVING ME FEEL LIKE AN IDIOT EVERY TIME I MAKE YOU UNCOMFORTABLE!”

“O-oh…” Gohan’s managed, rubbing his forearm as he turned to see her blushing, eyes fierce. “That’s...actually a good idea.”

“Right?!” she huffed, turning away to grumble about how dense he was under her breath. There was probably more there, but Gohan was too busy rubbing his arm to eavesdrop. “Anyway, I need your help on picking out a word. It doesn’t work if only one of us knows it and it should be something that only we can recognize.”

“Okay, wait lemme think,” He pressed his fist to his chin, brows furrowed. “Hmmm...what about Saiyaman?”

“No,” Videl shook her head. “That’s too on-the-nose. I thought maybe Majin, but that’s kinda depressing.”

“Yeah, but I like where you’re going with this,” Gohan twisted his face as he went through the rolodex of words in his brain that coordinated with Videl. “Oh! I know...what about Chobi?”

“Chobi?” she echoed, looking up at the sky as the name clicked in her mind. “You mean that tiny dinosaur you saved from the Circus?”

“Yeah! Code Chobi - does that work?”

Smiling she nodded and Gohan felt proud of his own cleverness. It was also the adventure where Videl was able to guess his secret identity by the scratch she left after their fight.

“Code Chobi has some rules though,” Videl said, bringing him back to attention as she frowned. “Just because one of us pulls a Code Chobi doesn’t mean we can’t eventually tell the other what’s going on. If anything, it just gives us time to figure out how we want to address it with the other, alright?”

“Uh sure, but what would you need a Code Chobi for?” Gohan asked and instantly Videl stiffened like a cat being held above water. “Do you have any secrets?”

“Um...well..I...uh…” she stammered, blushing furiously before jumping to her feet. “I call Chobi!”

“Hey!” Gohan pouted as the other teen skidded off the side of the roof and back down to her balcony. “No fair!”

“The second rule is that you can’t push a Code Chobi after it’s called!” Videl pointed at him as he frowned over the edge of the roof. “You just gotta deal with it!”

Sighing in defeat, Gohan hoisted himself from the roof and back onto the balcony. He nearly walked into Videl, not noticing that she was still standing in the doorway. Her gaze was still fierce when her hand was outstretched.

“I’m serious, Gohan,” she said, her voice softer. “You can’t just keep calling Code Chobi to stall about telling me things. I want you to trust me...you’re my best friend.”

Gohan felt his heart beat loudly, staring down at her outstretched hand like it was some sort of trick. But he knew better - Videl was honest and all she wanted was his honesty in return.

For her, he figured he could try.

Taking her hand in his, they shook firmly and Videl kept her hold on his hand, entwining her fingers within his. He blushed at the contact as she tugged him through the balcony door and into her room.

“Good! Now let’s have some dessert,” she smiled at him. “Thanks to the palette of a certain pink monster, we now have enough hot chocolate and cookies in the downstairs kitchen to feed ten armies.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gohan closes a door that he doesn't want opened.

Videl flopped on her bedroom floor with her legs crossed, looking up at her closet with a pout.

It never bothered her before, but after seventeen years on the planet it had finally dawned on her that she had nothing to wear.  Looking up at the almost infinite rows of activewear filled her with a new sense of dread.

She never considered herself a tomboy - just someone who wasn’t a fan of things that were pink and frilly. Also, being who she was, it always made more sense to dress in something _practical_ than something _pretty_. It would be ridiculous for her to try to stop of batch of bank robbers wearing a tube top and shorts per Erasa’s sense of fashion.

Though it even hit her as crazy to not have anything in-between asides for one blue dress that she wore to fancy occasions.

Biting her lip, she remembered what had brought her to the depths of her closet -  classes resumed at Orange Star High School the following day. While she didn't care what most of her classmates thought of her, there was one person who she wouldn't mind reminding that she wasn't just a good sparring partner.

Turning to face one of the many full-length mirrors in her closet, Videl had a good look at herself from her seat on the floor. Her hair had grown since she cut it for the tournament, and her pixie cut was becoming shaggy around her eyes and neck. She was short and always in top athletic shape, giving her a thicker build than what most women would consider "feminine." Videl always rolled her eyes at girls who complained about the number that faced them on the scale during school physicals. After weight lifting and heavy training for years while being on the smaller side, she knew better than to let something like how much she weighed bother her.

As she inspected herself, Videl came to the realization that she didn't want to look different, she just wanted to look nicer. And while she didn't mind wearing baggy t-shirts and bike shorts often, maybe she could invest in a few more casual outfits like jeans or a cute cardigan. She mulled the idea around in her head before jumping to her feet in a newfound determination.

She was going to go girl clothes shopping at the mall!

Then a new moment of clarity set-in as Videl's mind instantly jumped to the types of women who go shopping on weekends. Suddenly a vision of swarms of the Bulmas and Erasas of the world filled her thoughts. Videl thought of women fighting over dresses marked 75% off like lionesses over scraps of food. Herds of fellow teenage girls snapping gum and taking pictures of themselves in dressing rooms while Videl waited in an infinite line made her blood instantly boil.

"Screw this," she hissed under her breath, grabbing a pair of black leggings and her best fitting yellow sweater. "I'm not changing a damn thing."

Videl was just about to venture into her shoe closet when a loud crashing erupted from the hallway. Throwing her outfit on the bed, she flung her door opened and glared out the door.

"Buu, you better not be trying to eat the ferns in the corridor again!" she scolded, seeing the bright pink, magical bubblegum creature struggling at the end of the hallway.

Huffing in annoyance, she marched to the monster who was once the biggest threat the universe had ever known. Now it was just the biggest threat to her house.

“Buu, I’m serious!” she said, pulling the pink monster by the vest to face her. “Let go of that-GOTEN?”

With a gasp she staggered back on her feet when she saw the younger Son boy struggling against Buu’s grip by grabbing onto its face. Stretching the pink flesh into strange faces, Buu looked more like a piece of Silly Putty than a monster. In return, Buu had its own mittens over Goten’s mouth, though the spiky-haired child was attempting to bite his way out.

“V-videl!” Goten managed, as he struggled to escape Buu’s hold. “Help...me...get’em off…”

“Buu!” she scolded as if speaking to a dog and instantly the monster froze. Slowly, it turned its head to face Videl, its skin stretching in Goten’s grip.

“Yes, Ms. Videl?”

“Put Goten down now.”

There was a moment of silence between the three of them, Videl’s glare never lingered. Eventually, Buu retracted its rubbery flesh and Goten fell to the ground with a thump. Taking a moment to give one last look at Goten, Buu turned around and headed downstairs. Most likely towards the mansion's main kitchen.

“Yeah, you better run!” Goten called, blowing a raspberry at the monster while making a rude gesture she knew he learned from Trunks. “Dummy!”

“Goten,” Videl asked, crouching down so she was eye-level with the boy. “What are you doing here?”

Instantly the spiky-haired boy seem to bristle, turning to face her with pink cheeks. Videl could tell by his clothes that Goten wasn’t visiting for a sparring session. He was dressed in the uniform he would wear to his classes, an Ox family gi. Nervously, he stared down at his feet as if his shoes were suddenly incredibly fascinating.

“Goten,” she pressed, knowing that eventually he would crack under her stare. “Tell me.”

“It’s Gohan,” he said, looking at her with teary eyes as his voice cracked. “He...he doesn’t want to go back to school.”

“What?!” she exclaimed, nearly falling back from shock. “What...why?! We have class tomorrow, when did he decide this?!”

“I dunno! He just brought it up during breakfast today. He was...um...what’s the word...nonchalala?”

“Nonchalant,” she corrected.

“Yeah, he was that!” Goten nodded eagerly. “Then Mom started yelling and it was a lot of back and forth. And then she few some plates...but he didn’t budge! After a while, Dad had to prey Mom away from the cabinet to keep her from throwing any more dishes. Gohan’s been in his room ever since, not opening the door for anyone. Not even me! And I don’t even like school!”

Videl stood up, crossing her arms over her chest. If Son Gohan thought he was going to slip out of going to school after she spent all morning fussing over what to wear, he had another thing coming. She turned on her heel, heading back into her bedroom.

“Videl?” Goten asked, trailing closely behind her as she opened the balcony window in her bedroom. “What are you doing?”

“Flying to your house,” she said, giving the boy an icy stare. “That is where he’s held up, right?”

“Uh...yeah,” Goten said, following her into the sky. “Wow Videl, you’re like..my mom scary when you’re serious! Gohan’s definitely gonna have to open the door for you!”

Videl didn’t respond, hoping that the pinkness in her cheeks could be inferred as from the wind and not the comparison.

The rest of the flight went pretty quietly. Between Goten talking a mile-a-minute and Videl thinking of all the ways she was going the murder her best friend, they reached Mount Paozu rather quickly. Landing on the grass lightly, Goten looked up at Videl, his eyes oddly serious.

“Mom’s probably still pretty steamed,” he explained. “I’ll make sure to explain the situation so she doesn’t go nuclear again.”

“Oh...okay,” she nodded, following behind as Goten opened the door.

“MOM! I BROUGHT VIDEL!” Goten yelled into the house. “SHE’S GONNA KEEP GOHAN FROM BECOMING A DERELICT!”

“Oh god…” Videl groaned to herself before following Goten inside. “Sorry for the intrusion!”

Videl had been inside the Son residence countless times and she was always impressed with how neat Chichi kept a house full of Saiyans. However, it seemed her argument with Gohan had left casualties behind in the evidence of the many broken dishes that littered the floor. Treading lightly, she was quickly able to see Goku sitting next to his wife at the kitchen table, rubbing her back gently as she buried her face in her arms. Videl couldn’t make out what Chichi was saying, but she had a pretty good feeling it aligned well with her own thoughts.

“Hello Videl,” Goku greeted, his voice curling with its usual chipper tone. “I see Goten’s quest to find you was successful.”

“Um...yeah,” she said, eyes still frozen on Chichi. “I heard that Gohan doesn’t want to go to school anymore?”

The reminder of the situation triggered Chichi, her head shooting up from the table. Strands of jet black hair had escaped its usual home in her bun and landed on her shoulders. Her eyes were red and puffy, most likely from angry crying.

“Oh, hello dear,” Chichi greeted, her voice dripping with exhaustion as she made a half-hearted attempt to motion to the broken dishes around them. “Please excuse the appearance of the kitchen. I’m sure Goten has told you all about how our family is fallen into shambles as Gohan pursues a life of a high school dropout.”

“Chichi, it’s not that bad,” Goku said sincerely, taking one of wife’s hands in his to have her face him. “High School isn’t everything. I didn’t even go school and look how great I turned out!”

A heavy silence dropped between everyone in the room. Finally Chichi removed her hand from her husband’s hold, patting him gently between his spiky locks and slowly went back to bemoaning her eldest son’s terrible choices. A few seconds later, Videl felt a tug at the bottom of her t-shirt.

“C’mon,” Goten said, thumbing the hallway. “He’s still in his room.”

She nodded and followed Goten down the halls that lead directly to Gohan’s door. Though a teenager, it still hung the sign with his name on it that looked to be made when he was a child. She bet that Goten’s room probably had a similar sign, as if a family of four in a small house could be confused about where their rooms were.

Goten knocked three times to no answer.

“Gohan it’s me!” Goten said, his voice cracking slightly from the yelling earlier. “I know you’re still in there cause I can feel your ki-energy.”

There was more silence and they exchanged looks quickly before turning back to the door.

“I got Videl here,” he said and she felt a flicker of Gohan’s ki change. Most likely because Gohan was annoyed at her sudden appearance. “I told her about your choice and I don’t think she likes it.”

Moving aside, Goten looked up and motioned towards the door as if cueing Videl on stage to perform a magic trick. Staring at the door blankly, she wondered if Gohan would unlock the door for her. Especially if it meant keeping him at Orange Star. The thought of him not attending classes anymore was enough to get her anger boiling again. Instantly she banged on the door with her own fist.

“Gohan!” she called, giving another bang for good measures. “Open this door right now! This is stupid!”

She was answered with silence at first, but Videl could feel Gohan’s energy moving closer towards the door. Was he opening it?

“Hi Videl…” came Gohan’s voice from behind the door, and instantly Videl felt her anger begin to cool. Something about the way his voice sounded pulled her into the moment. “I’m sorry Goten brought you all the way here. This really isn’t something that you should worry about.”

“That’s bul-” Videl stopped, eyeing Goten quickly before editing herself. “...baloney, Gohan, and you know it! You’re my best friend, of course hearing you not coming back to school is going to worry me.”

When he didn’t respond, Videl turned to Goten and motioned for him to leave. Taking the hint, Goten nodded and headed back to the end of the hallway. Once he was out of earshot, Videl took a seat in front of the door.

“Gohan…” she said softly, knowing he would be able to hear her behind the wood. “What’s going on with you? What’s all this about?”

Without missing a beat, his answer traveled through the door.

“...Code Chobi.”

Shocked, Videl blinked at the door as if it had said the phrase and not the teenager behind it.

“You can’t use Code Chobi for this, you idiot!” she fought, banging the door and hoping it was close enough to his ear to hurt. “This is your education we’re talking about! Not to mention how upset your family is about this!”

When he didn’t respond, Videl felt her blood begin to boil again as her temper rose. Jumping to her feet, she glared at offensive barrier as if it had personally insulted her.

If he wasn’t going to open the door willingly, she was going to have to use force.

“Last chance to open it on your own,” she said, backing up to the end of the hallway, getting herself prepared for a running position. “I’ll give you until the count of three. One…”

“Videl, I wouldn’t-” Goten started, but was ignored.

“Two…”

“But he’s sitting-”

“THREE!”

Letting off like a rocket, Videl’s feet pounded against the hardwood floor until she neared the door. Positioning her forearm, she hit the wood like a linebacker but was met with an unmovable force as the impact of the blow set her flying back to the floor in a painful heap.

Groaning, she sat up to see Goten jog up next to her.

“I was trying to tell you that he’s sitting in front of the door,” the boy explained. “Even at your strongest, you can’t move him.”

“Augh, fine! You want to lock yourself in your room like a baby, then go ahead! See if I care!” Videl shouted jumping to her feet and kicking the door for good measure. “When you feel like acting like a grown-up and call off the Code Chobi, come find me.”

Marching away, Videl came around into the kitchen where she faced the rest of the Son family. Instantly her temper cooled and was replaced by a deep sense of embarrassment. She opened her mouth to apologize but Goku waved it off with a laugh.

“It’s fine, really,” he assured as she took a seat next to him at the kitchen table. “Our doors have withstood a lot worse over the years.”

“Still, that’s not an excuse for losing my temper,” she admitted, turning her attention to the table as she rubbed her sore arm. “I'm sorry. It’s just...why on earth would he lock himself up like that? It’s not like Gohan to just shut himself off like that...is it?”

Chichi raised her head from her arms, sitting up in her chair. Her hair was still in disarray, though Videl felt an eerie sense of calm around the normally frantic matriarch.

“I’m going to go lay down for a bit,” she said with a sense of finality, standing from her chair. As she passed, Videl felt the woman squeeze her shoulder slightly. “Don’t take it too hard, dear. Oftentimes stubborn men don’t appreciate us stubborn women until they need to.”

“She’s right,” Goku smiled to himself as Goten hurried into the kitchen.

“Videl! I came up with another plan!” he said eagerly, looking up at her with hopeful eyes. “I think I can squeeze into the window and-”

“No, no, no!” Videl said, waving her hands in front of her face as she remembered her own attempt at the teen’s bedroom window. “He’s still in his room and he doesn’t want to talk about it.”

“How do you know?”

“Because he said Code Chobi,” she explained. “It’s what we use when we don’t want to talk about something for a bit. He wouldn’t have used it if he wasn’t serious.”

“That’s not fair!” Goten whined, exasperated by the situation to the point of face planting onto the table.

The sound of a chair scratching against the floor ripped through the kitchen as Goku rose from his chair. Stretching his arms, he looked at his youngest son.

“Goten, wouldn't you rather be outside playing?” he said, motioning to the front door. “It’s a pretty nice day and you finished your studies, right?”

“Yeah,” he said, raising his face and making his way to the door. “This is dumb, I’m gonna go collect lizards instead!”

Videl watched as Goten ran out of the house, feeling a pang of envy at his attention span. Looking down at her hands in her lap, she wondered if she should leave as well. Not that she didn’t feel comfortable with Goku, but she had only spoken to him a handful of times since she met him. Most of those interactions were her trying to convince him that Gohan was still alive during their battle against Majin Buu.

Looking around the walls from her seat, Videl saw many pictures of Goku with a younger Gohan, but in more recent photos he wasn’t featured. It was only a few months since he had been back from the dead, so it wasn’t surprising that they didn’t find time to update a family photo.

“I better clean this up,” Goku said, breaking Videl from her thoughts. “I’d hate for anyone to get hurt with all these broken dishes around.”

Videl turned to Goku, who was navigating around the kitchen to pick up the shattered plates barehanded.

“Ah, let me help you with that!”

Quickly she went to locate the broom that Chichi kept in the hall closet. When she returned, she saw Goku staring at her blankly before laughing softly. Tightening her hold on the broom’s handle, she felt her cheeks warm.

“Sorry!” Goku apologized between laughter, leaning back on his heels. “It’s just...I didn’t even know where that thing was and I live here!”

“Oh...I mean, I only know because once after training with the boys we brought in dirt into the house,” she explained as Goku took the dustpan from her so she could sweep. “I felt really bad and swept up the kitchen after.”

“That’s why Chichi likes you so much,” Goku joked, smiling up at her with a the same grin she has seen flash across Gohan’s face. “You’re a fighter and you clean up after yourself!”

“Not to mention the one of the two people keeping Satan City’s police officers from running towards their own funeral,” she paused. “Actually, I guess now it’s going to be back to one.”

Goku’s grin faded as his attention went back to tossing the dish remains into the garbage.

“To answer your earlier question,” Goku said as she swept the last plate into the bin. “I’m not really sure if this is like Gohan to lock himself up. Though, when he was younger he was prone to closing himself off to other people.”

“Even his friends?”

“Actually...you’re probably the first friend he’s made who isn’t part of our inner circle,” he admitted as he emptied the bin. “I think he’s worried about going back after everything that happened. As far as I know, he was keeping a pretty low profile at school, right?”

“Well, if you call flying around like a costumed vigilante a ‘low profile,’ then yeah he was,” Videl said, spinning the broom in her hands absentmindedly. “Though I was the only one with enough brains to figure out that the new kid who kept taking mysterious bathroom breaks while I went out on patrol was Saiyaman. I don’t think anyone else noticed until…”

Instantly something snapped in Videl’s mind and she almost dropped the broom.

The tournament.

“Augh, that idiot!” she yelled, throwing the broom on the ground so hard it nearly broke. “Now I know what this is about!”

“Um...okay,” Goku said as Videl marched back towards Gohan’s door in a rage. “Good luck!”

A few steps later, Videl was back at the wooden door.

“Gohan, open up!” she ordered, pounding on the door with a balled fist. “I’m not going to ask you again!”

“Videl?!” she heard him squeak from behind the door. “Look, I called a Code Chobi and the rules say you can’t-”

“I know what the rules are, you dingus,” she argued as she tried to jiggle the lock on the door open. “ But I know what you’re upset about, so you can’t Code Chobi this!”

“What are you-”

“You’re upset that you showed off your powers to everyone at the tournament, aren’t you?” she said finally, her voice softer against the door. “You’re nervous about going back to school because you don’t think they’ll accept you anymore.”

Silence fell between them and she knew she had hit the nail on the head.

"Look, I know you're worried, but you have nothing to be afraid of," she continued, resting her forehead against the door. "You were unmasked because you made sure I was okay after my match with Spopovich. If you didn't get to me in time, I may not be here right now. Not to mention all the people who you saved even before people found out about your power...if anything they should be grateful. Like I am."

She paused, taking a deep breath. Problems were usually things she solved through fighting, not talking. Maybe she couldn't fix this..

“Gohan please,” she begged. “Open this door and let me in. I need you to trust me, okay?”

After a moment, Videl heard a clicking sound.

He had open his door for her.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Videl fights off school rumors and Gohan fights to keep it together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, this story is still happening. To apologize for the gap between chapters, here's a 3,000 word update. Bye!

When Gohan left his room the following morning, the first thing he noticed was that there were far less dishes in the cabinets.

The second thing he noticed was that his entire family was staring at him as if had grown a second head overnight. All air was sucked out of the kitchen, even though the windows were opened. His father and brother had stopped shoveling food into their mouths, staring up at him with bits of rice sticking to their faces. His mother, who didn’t have nearly the appetite of the rest of them, stared at him over her cup of tea with a stony look he hadn’t seen since his childhood.

“Good morning,” he greeted with a smile as he pulled a wooden chair out from the kitchen table. Swinging his yellow messenger back over side of of the chair, Gohan took a look at the seemingly endless supply of food his mother had whipped up for breakfast. "Wow, this food looks great, mom!"

The air rushed back into the room like a sigh of relief. Goten eagerly began pummeling him with questions about school while his father went back to eating. Gohan was just about to make his third plate when his cellphone started ringing. Glancing at the screen, he was surprised to see that it was Videl calling.

“S’rry!” he excused himself, swallowing his mouthful of food before standing up and answering the call. “Hello?”

“Hey!” he heard Videl from the other side of the phone. Judging from the buzzing in the background, she was flying in her airship. “I just wanted to give you the heads up that we’ll be at your house in 10 minutes.”

“Wait...what? Why?” he squeaked, turning to look out the window to see if he could catch a glimpse of the yellow vehicle. “And who’s ‘we’?”

There was a loud sound of a struggle as the cellphone was seemingly being passed along to another person. Gohan was able to pick up an annoyed _“Hey! Watch it!”_ from Videl before his ears were meet with a familiar high-pitched squeal.

“Hiya, Gohan!” Erasa’s voice rang through the phone’s speaker so loud the teenager had to move it from his ear. “Videl and I are carpooling for our first day back!”

“Oh...fun…” he said, hoping his voice sounded good-naturedly.

“Yeah! Even though you and Videl are totally superheroes and can fly.”

Gohan froze, his blood cooling in his veins as his body turned to stone. On the other end of the line, he heard Videl loudly scold Erasa for her lack of subtlety.

“Oh relax, Videl,” Erasa hushed, her voice softer as she was away from the phone. “You and Gohan looked totally cool at the tournament! Anyway Gohan, we’ll be there in five, later!”

The cell phone clicked, signaling the end of the call. Swallowing hard, he slipped the phone into his back pocket and slowly made his way to back to the table to finish his breakfast. As he resumed his meal, the sound of Goten telling their parents about his plans for the day murmuring into the background as Gohan thought back to his intervention by Videl the previous day.

After explaining his uneasiness to her, he was surprised that she didn’t face his dilemma with her usual toughness. She had sat with him, listening closely, before assuring him that she was “going to figure this out” as long as he promised to go to school the following day. 

The way she smiled, blue eyes sparkling brightly with a reassurance he had never seen from her before, warmed him. His feelings for his friend fluttered beneath his heart as he promised. Punching him lightly in the arm before leaving, she sent him a thumbs up over her shoulder before heading out.

Now sitting at the kitchen table, Gohan didn’t know how to feel about returning to Orange Star High. He knew that Erasa had found out his identity at the World Tournament, but at the time he saw it has a minor nuisance. After Buu, being reminded of how much power he was capable of, it all hit him at once. His mother’s warnings about not being normal seemed silly after a life of being surrounded by the impossible - aliens with super strength, murderous androids, even the Dragonballs themselves were on a level that people like his classmates couldn’t possibly comprehended.

The fact that Videl even still spoke to him was just a testament of how amazing of a person she was. Definitely not someone who deserved to be dragged through all the dangers that followed him.

He had already gotten her killed once. She had sacrificed more than enough for him.

“Yo! Gohan!”

Snapping from his thoughts, the teen turned to see that Goten was snapped his fingers in front of his face, frowning.

“Ah, sorry!” he apologized, turning to face his younger brother. “What’s up?”

“I said that Videl’s heli-whatever is coming over,” he said, pointing to the yellow plane in the sky. “Didn’t she stop using that thing when we taught her to fly? Whatcha doing?”

“Uh, yeah she’s actually picking me up for school,” Gohan said, standing from his seat. “She’s bringing one of our classmates from Orange Star and if we flew to school it’d sort of look...um…”

“Conspicuous?” Chichi offered, giving her son a knowing look over her cup of tea. Gohan could’ve sworn he saw a slight hint of mischievousness in her eyes.

“Yes,” Gohan nodded, turning back to his brother. “So don’t mention anything about flying or powers - nothing! Got it?”

Goten eyed his brother suspiciously for a moment.

“Fine,” he relented, turning his attention back to the kitchen window. “But I dunno why you can’t just teach your whole class how to fly. You’re a really good teacher, Gohan!”

Gohan smiled, ruffling his younger brother’s hair as they watched the familiar yellow helicopter land on their front lawn. With a friendly wave, he greeted Videl and Erasa as they exited the plane. Erasa, unsurprisingly, was wearing her usual halter top and jeans, though it felt strange to see Videl in clothes that weren’t for training. She always looked cute, even in her oversized t-shirts and bike shorts, but today she looked especially nice.

“Hey Goh-AUGH!” Videl attempted to greet before being shoved aside by Erasa who barreled out of the plane and rushed Gohan.

“Ohmigod, Gohan!” the blonde squealed, trapping the teen in a bearhug that left him winded. “It’s been, like, forever! How are you? Is this your house? It’s really cute!”

“Hi Erasa,” he choked, prying the girl from his torso. “To answer your questions in order: I’m fine, yes this is my house and thank you my mother works hard to keep it tidy.”

“Aw, you’re still such a silly. I’m glad all that butt-kicking didn’t turn you into some kind of serious robot,” Erasa giggled, punching him in the arm before getting distracted. “Ohmigosh, is that your little brother?”

Gohan exchanged a worried look with Videl as they watched their friend hurry over to the boy, cooing over his hair.

“She’s lucky he’s nicer than Trunks, or she’d end up halfway around the mountain by now,” Videl sighed, turning to her Gohan with bright blue eyes. “How are you?”

“Pretty good I guess,” he shrugged his bag more securely over his shoulder. “You sure only her and Sharpner know about me?”

“Yup,” she nodded. “Remember Piccolo destroyed all the cameras at the tournament and nobody from our class really cares about martial arts besides Sharpner.”

“And Erasa didn’t saying anything?”

“Since it concerns me, she hasn’t,” she grinned cheekily. “She knows better than to do anything dumb like that.”

Gohan couldn’t help but agree. If there was one person he wasn’t keen on getting on the bad side of, it was Videl.

"She's one of my closest friends. I trust her, so don't worry."

After some quick introductions to Erasa from his mother and father, Videl hurried them onto the ship to make sure they weren’t late for their first day back. Climbing into the back, Gohan buckled up while Erasa took a seat next to Videl on the passenger side. Within a moments, they were in the air and heading to Satan City.

“Why so nervous looking?” Erasa asked Gohan through the rearview mirror before turning around in her seat to face the teen. “Did you not study over the break or something?”

“Uh...no, nothing like that,” he said, trying to brush away the question with his hand. “It’s more about getting back into the rhythm of everything, y’know?”

“Ugh, tell me about it! Today I almost slept through my alarm because I am not used to getting up so early. I mean, who ever thought that having class start at 9am was an absolute satanist-”

“You mean sadist,” Videl corrected. “And Gohan’s nervousness isn’t coming from his lack of getting up early.”

There was a moment of silence before it clicked in Erasa’s mind.

“Ohhh, that,” she said, blinking a few times. “Well, I dunno why he’s so nervous. It’s not like everyone didn’t know already that he was a little weird.”

“Erasa!”

“In a cute way!” the blonde saved, pushing her hands in front of her face to keep from being punched by Videl whose eyes were still firmly on the sky before them. “Gohan, you know I think you’re adorable, right?”

“Er...yeah, I think you make it abundantly clear.”

“See, Videl! He knows I’m not being serious,” she smiled, winking at Gohan over her shoulder. “You have nothing to worry about. Nobody ever listens to Sharpner anyway.”

Gohan smiled and laugh politely. He was appreciative of Erasa’s willingness to ease his nerves. However, he couldn’t help but shake the uneasy feeling that sat in the pit of his stomach.

The rest of the plane ride went quickly, with Erasa sharing the latest gossip of their classmates while Videl half-listened. However, Gohan did notice that she looked relieved at the news that Angela had snagged herself a new boyfriend. Having gone on his first and only date her himself, he wondered what type of person had the patience to commit fully to the overzealous girl.

“Prepare for landing,” Videl said, flipping a few levers on the control panel. “Erasa, look for a spot to park.”

“Aye aye!” the blonde saluted, peering over to the dashboard and eagerly pointing to a space in the parking lot. Moments later, they were in the student parking lot of Orange Star High School.

Videl cut the ignition and turned to the back seat to grab her backpack. Erasa was first to exit the vehicle, waving to a few classmates Gohan didn’t recognize. Undoing his seatbelt, he was surprised to see Videl staring at him.

“Hey, you okay?” she asked, extending her hand to his, its warmth giving him gooseflesh.

Gohan smiled sheepishly and rubbed the back of his neck with his free hand, “I...I don’t know about okay. But I guess I don’t really have a choice, huh?”

“Nope,” she smiled, squeezing his hand lightly before pulling away to open her door. “Now hurry out or else you’re gonna get capsuled with the ship.”

He scooted out the ship, closing the door behind him before Videl capsulizes the ship with a familiar pop. Together they turned to meet up with Erasa who was chatting with a dark-hair boy in sunglasses, wearing a tank-top and jeans. The graphic on his shirt read _Orange Star Wrestling._  The student greeted Videl, but didn’t seem to recognize Gohan.

“Sorry, bro, I don’t know ya. What do they call you?” the boy asked, eyeing Gohan over his sunglasses.

“Son Gohan,” he said, glancing nervously at Videl before meeting the boy’s gaze again. “And yourself?”

Instantly the teen froze, his sunglasses falling off his face as he gaped, “S-Son...Gohan? You’re that guy?”

Gohan's stomach dropped, knowing full well that Sharpner had gotten to the student before he had. It seemed his reputation was already proceeding him and they haven’t even reached homeroom. Next to him, he saw Videl’s mood darken.

“Lemme guess,” she said, arms crossed over her chest. Even though she was a good two heads shorter than the boy, at the tone of her voice he jumped to attention. “You’re part of Sharpner's crew?”

“Uh...listen, I’m just part of the wrestling club, but I know what I’ve heard from Sharp about that kid,” he said, pointing to Gohan as if he wasn’t there. “And I don’t want nothing to do with that.”

“What a stupid thing to say, Shin-kun!” This time it was Erasa who came to Gohan’s defense. “With an attitude like that, I’m starting to think I don’t want nothing to with you, either!”

“Aw, c’mon Era-OOF!” Shin groaned, finding himself nose-to-nose with Videl, who had a tight grab the collar of his shirt. Between them, his plastic sunglasses clattered onto the ground.

“Videl!”

“Where’s Sharpner?” she demanded, ignoring Gohan’s scolding.

“Wh-what’s it to ya?” he laughed humorlessly. “And are you gonna pay for those shades?”

“No, but you’re about to eat gavel in a second.” she said, tightening her grip. “Now spill.”

Videl’s eyes never wavered from Shin’s, almost daring him to make a move.

“Augh! Alright! I don’t want any trouble...my mom will kill me if I get suspended again,” he relented, turning away with a pout. “He was by the baseball fields, but I dunno if he’s still there.”

Videl nodded, shoving the boy away roughly before turning on her heel and making a beeline for the fields. Blankly, Gohan turned to Erasa who was glaring daggers at Shin.

“Shin-kun, apologize to Gohan right now!” she demanded, pointing at Gohan with her manicured finger.

“Fine, I’m sorry, alright?” the teen said, picking up his sunglasses to wipe them off on his shirt.

Pleased with her handiwork, Erasa went to follow Videl leaving the two teens behind. Gohan swallowed uncomfortably, trying to figure out what to say to the other boy.

“Listen...about that-”

“Don’t worry about it,” Shin said, slipping his sunglasses on. He turned to make his way to the school’s door, shouldering Gohan in the process. “Those rumors must be bullshit if you need two girls to stand up for you.”

Gohan staggered backwards, staring at the boy’s back. He knew Videl meant well, but her protective nature mixed with her brash attitude wasn’t always the most diplomatic approach. His thoughts ripped from his mind when he’s shoved aside by two or three students holding their cell phones. Moving aside, he followed the growing crowd of people and recognized their destination as the baseball field.

Groaning inwardly, Gohan quickly made his way through the crowd, apologizing as he cut through various classmates. When he reached the circle, he saw Sharpner was standing in front of a few guys Gohan recognized from the wrestling club while Videl stared them down. Next to her, Erasa was trying to help offset the growing crowd, but it’s clear she was struggling.

“Ah, Gohan!” Erasa squealed, looking back at her two friends who were staring each other down. “Um...we found Sharpner?”

“Yeah, I see that,” he said, pushing passed a tall girl in glasses as he reached the pit. “What’s going on?”

He heard a few students yell for a fight, but he ignored it. Looking at Videl, he could tell from her posture that she wasn’t going to start anything unless Sharpner did first. Sharpner was stupid, but even he wasn’t dumb enough to try anything against her.

“Hey buddy,” Sharpner greeted, nodding at Gohan arrogantly. “It seems Videl here isn’t so happy with me telling everyone the truth about you.”

“Because it’s bullshit,” she hissed, not turning to look at Gohan. “It’s no surprise that Gohan was different, we all saw him jump 10 meters in the air to catch a damn baseball his first day.”

“Not to mention his constant bathroom trips…” came a voice from the back.

“Yeah or him walking to school when he lives, like, a zillion miles away!” shouted another.

Gohan felt his ears redden. How had he so effortless constructed such a weird reputation?

“Easy, easy,” Sharpner urged, raising a hand to hush the crowd. “Videl, are you honestly telling me that what you saw this guy do at the tournament didn’t change things for you? Seriously?”

For the first time since the encounter, Videl turned to look at Gohan. Her blue eyes, wide with honesty and good intentions, struck him like a punch. Wordlessly he knew that nothing had changed for her, and the affection he felt was striking. A warmth in his chest bubbled and if he wasn’t such a coward, he would have expressed his adoration to her right there.

And then she began to laugh.

She began to laugh really, really hard.

The mood in the pit changed as Videl’s laughter grew more uncontrolled. Leaning over, she tried to suppress her hysterics into giggles that faded into a snort.

“What the fuck, Satan?!” Sharpner demanded, pointing at the crowd. “Read the damn atmosphere! This isn’t anything to laugh about!”

“Y-yes, it is!” she gasped, looking at him with a bright smile. “You idiot, all that stuff at the tournament was staged!”

Everyone fell into a hushed whisper. Even Sharpner didn’t have a comeback to what Videl just admitted.

“Videl…” Gohan urged, seeing the thin ice she was walking on. She was dangerously close to outing her father as a fraud.

“No Gohan, it’s fine,” she sighed, standing up at her full height. “I’d feel bad if anyone thought you were _actually_ Saiyaman. Who knows what craziness could come from that, right?”

The mischievous look in her eyes subsided his concerns. If this is what it took to get all this nonsense to blow over, then so be it.

“Uh...yeah, I guess..” he relented. “I just didn’t want to um...admit to it…”

“See, the tournament’s committee thought it’d help attendence to have Saiyaman and my Dad fight,” she explained. “But since nobody knows who Saiyaman is, they couldn't just ask him so they needed a stand-in. Gohan was kind enough to do it, but it never happened.”

“B-but he flew!” Sharpner spluttered indignantly, his face red with outrage. “I saw him fly and Erasa did too!”

He turned to the blonde girl who shrugged, “I dunno, Sharpie. I told you I thought it was wires, but you didn’t want to listen.”

There was a collective sigh of disappointment from the crowd, many of the students already turning around to head to class. Even some of the wrestling team left, seeing no use in ganging up on a guy who was nice enough to help out a friend. Gohan was just about to head in himself when he heard Sharpner’s final yell.

“Wait a second!” he demanded, pointing right at Gohan in rage. “Before the tournament, I saw you with Saiyaman...Gohan...whatever, and you said you were a thing!”

Videl raised an eyebrow, “And?”

“Well, are you?” his voice cracked, looking between the two of them. “Are you a thing? Is that why you’re defending him? Cause he’s your boyfriend?”

Gohan felt a spark of something flutter in the pit of his stomach as Videl turned around to sling her backpack over her shoulder.

“Maybe we are,” she shrugged, walking over to Gohan and intertwining her fingers with his. “Talk about that then, eh?”


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Videl suffers the consequences for her actions and Gohan surprises everyone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *throws new chapter together for 2016* UPDATE! Also, those skull text-emojis is my crowning achievement as a fanfiction writer.

Videl pulled Gohan by the hand through the courtyard, leading him roughly inside the school before the first bell rang. She felt her ears burn in embarrassment, the realization of her lie hitting her like a weight.

Why didn’t she quit while she was ahead?

The rest of the school had taken her lie at face value, but Sharpner had dug deep. His unrequited affection for her was nothing new. He had been working to gain her attention since the 8th grade, but this was different. The pettiness of his accusations were enough to ruffle her feathers. As if she needed a reason to defend Gohan, her friend, from his mean spirit.

And he played her like a fiddle.

“...Videl?”

At the sound of her name, she froze. The abrupt stop enough to cause the taller teen to collide into her in the hallway. She couldn’t speak, she couldn’t turn around and face him. But...she also couldn’t let go of his hand either. Its warm and steady grip felt like the only thing anchoring her to the world. She feared if she let go, he would leave her and never come back.

Students walked by them as the first bell rang. It was the warning bell, but neither of them moved. They were a boulder in a river, the current rushing around them.

“What...what was that?” he said, finally. “All that...why did you do that?”

She remained silent, focusing on the mismatched tiles on the ground. She felt her phone vibrate in her pocket and she knew it must have been Erasa, wondering where they were. Homeroom was going to start any minute…

“Videl!” Gohan demanded, his voice deeper than she knew it could go. Turning around, she faced him with a face she knew was covered in guilt. “Talk to me.”

“I….I don’t know what to say,” she admitted, forcing herself to maintain eye contact.

“Anything but Code Chobi.”

Her shoulders relaxed at the joke, though she understood the seriousness it implied.

“I just...wanted Sharpner to stop saying terrible things about you. I wanted him to stop...so I...I…”

“You lied,” he finished, his voice returning to its normal softness. “I never asked you to do that. You didn’t need to defend me.”

“Yes, I did!” she argued, the crowd of classmates all but disappearing. “You’re always fighting and sacrificing yourself for other people. You hide from everyone in order to protect them, but who’s protecting you? Yourself?”

Gohan stared at her, dark eyes blown wide. Videl couldn’t tell where this was coming from, but she couldn’t stop.

“You can’t fight the world alone and you can’t hide from it either,” she concluded, her eyes returning to the ground between them. “I’m sorry for lying, but I’m not sorry for defending you. You deserve defending.”

Videl was about to let go of his hand, to suggest that they head to class and forget that anything ever happened. If he was mad about her temper, then maybe he’ll just excuse the lie to Sharpner about them dating.

Her thoughts were dashed when he tightened his hold on her hand and pulled her into his chest, wrapping her in a warm embrace. Freezing at first, she thawed into his heat and wrapped her arms around his torso. She felt the hints of muscles she knew existed under his baggy clothes and his breath on the exposed skin from her collar caused goosebumps. He nestled himself into the crook of her neck, so his mouth was near her ear as he whispered.

“Thank you.”

The bell rang above them, but neither made an effort to move.

“You’re welcome,” she replied into his vest.

A moment later, a thin boy ran past, nearly colliding into them as they stood in the hallway. Skidding in front of their homeroom door, he watched as Videl broke away from Gohan.

“Oi,” he called, gaining both their attention. “So you two are a couple, eh?”

Both teens flushed crimson and Videl tried to correct their classmate before he ran into the room, but was too late. A moment later, Miss Hamilton’s head peared from the doorway, scowling.

“While I understand you are both the topic du jour of the day,” she hissed, glaring over her spectacles. “Do feel free to join the rest of the class once you’re finished with your romantic declaration.”

Flustered, the two teens nodded and hurried into the classroom. Scanning the seats, Videl tried to ignore the fact that everyone was staring at them and focus on finding a seat in the already packed homeroom class. Unfortunately, their dawdling forced her to sit in the second row of the lecture hall while Gohan was banished to the back. Once satisfied with attendance, Miss Hamilton began reading memos to the class.

Videl’s mind instantly wandered. focusing on her phone which was already full of messages from Erasa, a few rows up. With a swipe of her thumb, she began reading the first few notifications.

 _Erasa (08:55 am): yooooooooooooooo!!!_  
_Erasa (08:55 am): wat was that! D:!!!_  
_Erasa (08:55 am): r u 4 real rn w. gohan???!!!_  
_Erasa (08:56 am): AND WHERE R U!!! IM FIGHTING TO KEEP UR SEAT!!!_  
_Erasa (08:57 am): if ur gonna b late cuz ur making out with ur new bf im gonna dieeee_  
_Erasa (08:58 am): THAT CREEPY KID FROM CHEMISTRY IS GONNA TAKE YOUR SEAT_

There was a break between her texts until...

 _Erasa (09:00 am): OMFG HE TOOK IT_  
_Erasa (09:00 am): I AM DEAD ☠☠☠_

She sighed, looking over her shoulder to see Erasa glaring daggers at her. In Videl’s usual seat, the boy from their chemistry class looked at the blonde lovingly. A few chairs down, Sharpner sat slumped in his seat, making a distant effort to not look at anyone.

Pulling her phone to her face, Videl sent a quick message to Erasa.

_Videl (09:15am): Hi!_

She felt on the back of her head and Videl found herself grateful that Erasa did not understand ki-energy. The triple dots notifying her that Erasa was texting was instant.

 _Erasa (09:15 am): ARE U KIDDING ME!!!_  
_Erasa (09:15 am): 1st thx for leaving me with creepo. hes literally breathing down my neck_  
_Erasa (09:15 am): probs reading this text right now...HI SIMON PLZ STOP THX_  
_Videl (09:16 am): lol I’m sorry! Does that count for anything?_  
_Erasa (09:16 am): NO_  
_Erasa (09:16 am): but if u tell me abt u & gohan thatll help _

She bit her lip, knowing better than to put something like this in writing. However, she knew writing it out and sharing with her friend could help her process the complicated situation.

_Videl (09:16 am):  Fine. But make sure Simon isn’t actually reading this. I have enough people in my business already..._

Sighing, Videl adjusted her phone’s position in her lap. The last thing she needed was Miss Hamilton calling her out in class for texting. 

The entire story took longer than Videl thought it would to explain. By the time the entire story was documented, the bell rang signaling the end of homeroom. Luckily, their next class was in the same room, allowing Videl to eventually move up to her usual seat as Simon left to a different room. In the corner of her eye, Videl notice Sharpner leave as well. 

“Did he change his schedule?” Videl asked Erasa, motioning to the fleeting form of the boy. “I thought he had Literature with us.”

Erasa shrugged, “Beats me. I didn’t speak to him while he was here.” 

Videl’s nose scrunched in suspicion as she stared at the doorway, before she was brought back by Erasa. 

“So, what are you gonna do now?” the blonde asked in a low voice so only Videl could hear. “Did you guys talk about...y’know?”

“No...Hamilton pulled us inside before I could anything,” Videl said, looking over her shoulder again. “I’m kinda hoping he forgets about it.” 

“Doubt it,” Erasa laughed. “You done yourself in, Satan.”

Videl ignored her friend, still searching for Gohan in the lecture hall. She knew he was stuck in the back for homeroom, but she knew he had trouble seeing the blackboard that far back. She was just about to text him to move up when she heard familiar footsteps on the aisle stairs. 

“Look who I found in the hallway,” Sharpner said, thumbing a meek looking Gohan over his shoulder. “He forgot his Lit book, too.”

“So that’s why you left?” Videl asked, eyeing the blond suspiciously. “You forgot your book?”

“What can I say? I want to start fresh this semester,” he laughed forcefully, slapping Gohan on the back. Gohan’s face looked pained, grimacing at the contact.

“Yeah...fresh start…” the dark-haired teen said as Sharpner made his way to his seat before stopping.

“Whoops, you go first, Gohan,” he said, moving out of the way so Gohan could squeeze through. “You’d probably want to sit next to your _girlfriend_ , right?”

The word echoed through the classroom like a curse. Suddenly it felt as if the entire school was staring at Videl, who tried to keep the nervous expression from creeping onto her face. Gohan didn’t look at her, but she knew this could be her only chance to set the record straight.

“Sharpner, listen I-”

“Thanks, Sharpner!” Gohan said, his voice filled with enthusiasm as he moved passed. Setting his books down on the desk next to Videl, he sat quickly before staring at her. Videl felt her throat close, unable to make a sound. “I’ll try not to be too distracting.”

“Aw, I doubt that,” Sharpner smirked, taking his own seat. “Isn’t that right, Videl?”

Videl’s face flushed deeply, her tongue tangled inside her mouth. Unable to speak, she instead mumbled some incoherent comeback.

“I think she’s upset…”

“Nah, she probably just didn’t do her homework,” Erasa said, trying to fend off Sharpner’s prying. “Now that I think of it, neither did I…”

Still fighting the urge to swallow her own tongue, Videl felt a warm hand squeeze her own. Looking up, she saw Gohan smiling at her.

“Don’t worry, you can copy my notes if you need,” he said, leaning down to kiss her cheek chastely, whispering hotly in her ear, “ _Honey_.”

The classroom fell silent as the bell rang, Miss Hamilton returning with a mountain of textbooks in her arms.

“Good morning class,” she greeted, dropping the books onto her desk with a loud crash. “This semester, we will be studying tragic romances through the ages!”


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Gohan eats chicken and tries to push away his feelings.

Gohan felt a familiar headache spread from his eyes up to his temples.

At first, he figured it was due to the fact that he was sitting far too close to the blackboard during class. His mother had been telling him to go to the eye doctor for months, but it turned out it was the fact that Videl had been glaring at the back of his head throughout the last two periods. Scratching at the nape of his neck, he was almost surprised to not find a hole.

After Literature, she nearly backflipped out of her seat to sit in the row behind him while Erasa and Sharpner were in the bathroom. They didn’t seem to care about the seat change when they returned for their double-period of science, Erasa sitting next to Videl while Sharpner sat with his wrestling club friends.

When the bell rang signaling lunch, Gohan had barely finished packing up his books when Videl took hold of the strap of his bag with a snarl.

“Canwetalkforamomentthanks!”

Gohan could barely gather his footing on the tiles of the hallway before Videl threw him into the maintenance closet, sending him hurling into a collection of brooms and mops that resided inside.

“What the hell is wrong with you?” she demanded, eyes fierce.

“I thought we were gonna go with the lie…” Gohan said, trying to pry himself out of a bucket.

“Yeah but not like,” Videl struggled with words, hands grappling as if trying to pull words from the air. “So intensely?”

Gohan felt his stomach drop, finally freeing himself from the bucket. Attempting to stand at his full height, he ducked slightly to avoid getting slapped in the face with a mop. Looking over the soggy bristles, he managed to make out Videl’s flushing face in the darkness.

“I’m sorry...I didn’t mean to embarrass you.”

“Wait, no! Hold on, I wasn’t embarrassed by you, like that,” she stammered, her blush now creeping up to her ears. “I just...I...augh, dammit!”

She kicked a bucket, causing it to ricochet off the wall and nail Gohan in the face. He saw stars for a second, as the plastic bounced to the floor.

Gohan groaned, crouching to the floor with his hands covering his now bleeding nose. Videl stammered another apology, using her phone as a flashlight as she searched for something to help him with the blood that was spilling through his fingers.

  
“Damn it, damn it, I’m such an idiot,” she hissed, tearing into a package of paper towels and shoving it into his face. “God, this is so stupid. I’m so stupid…”

“‘Tis f’ne,” Gohan managed behind the blood-soaked paper towels that she was pressing against his face. “I ‘az be’ng stoopid.”

“Don’t talk when your nose is bleeding, dummy,” Videl sighed, sitting cross-legged on the cold closet floor, Gohan crouching over. “Knowing your luck, you’ll probably suffocate and die.”

Gohan smiled and was relieved to see that Videl felt his grin under her hand as her blush deepened. They sat in silence, Videl only looking away to text Erasa briefly that she would be going home for lunch.

“Is she going to believe you?” Gohan asked when Videl finally removed the paper towels.

“I don’t care anymore,” she sighed, leaning in to inspect Gohan’s nose. She cupped his face between her hands and it was enough to nearly send him into convulsions. “Everyone probably thinks we’re off to hook up or something.”

Images flashed through Gohan’s mind and he pushed himself back on his heels to keep from giving away any hint to his body’s response to her touching him while talking about such things. Lucky for him, Videl was quickly back on her feet and glaring at the closet’s door.

“We don’t have to do this at all if you’re uncomfortable,” he said, voice soft in the darkness.

She didn’t miss a beat.

“Listen, I don’t mind, y’know, fake dating you,” she said, turning to look at him. Gohan noted that the fierceness of her eyes, often reminding him of the brutal waves of the ocean, were calm. Like the lake by his house that he would fish at with his father and Goten. “I just want to go at a slow pace, okay?”

Gohan stared at Videl, her face far more relaxed than it was a few minutes ago when she was pushing the rough paper towels against his face. Part of him wanted to end the entire ruse now, just tell everyone it was a joke or something and move on with it. But he felt the selfish monster rise from the pit of his stomach again, curling its way up into his throat and speak for him.

“Okay,” it said with his mouth, as he swallowed hard to get his own words through. “Whatever you want to do, I’ll do.”

She smiled at him sweetly, like caramelized sugar on top of a crème brûlée. She extended her hand to him, and he took it, intertwining their fingers tightly.

* * *

The following weeks of them “dating” were actually far easier than their first day. Once the initial shock wore off, their classmates seemed over the fact and went about their business. Even Erasa seemed to get used to Videl and Gohan being a package deal, and Videl was good about telling Gohan to head home without her when she felt that Erasa needed some girl time.

Their situation was harder to explain to Gohan’s family, however, who didn’t seem to understand the pretend part of their pretend relationship.

“Why don’t you guys just date already?” Krillin had asked him over a plate of potato salad at one of Bulma’s barbecues at Capsule Corp.

“Because we’re not like that,” Gohan explained for what felt like the tenth time in that conversation alone. “She’s just trying to help me fit in at school.”

“By being your girlfriend?”

“Pretend girlfriend!” Gohan corrected, aiming his chicken leg at the shorter man pointedly. “Pretend. As in fake.”

Krillin sighed, looking over his shoulder to see Yamcha walking by and grabbing him by the arm.

“Hmm?” the taller man asked, shaggy dark bangs falling into his eyes as he blinked in confusion. “What’s up, man?”

“Yamacha, can you answer a few questions for me?”

“Uh, sure?”

Gohan shot a look at Krillin, who ignored it.

“What would you call a girl who you introduce to your entire family?”

“My girlfriend?”

“Interesting...what about a girl who you then bring to a family and friend barbecue?”

“Yeah, a girlfriend.”

“Huh...okay, last question. What about a girl who you’ve told all your deepest secrets to, including the one where you’re a half-alien superhuman who has saved the world countless times and, theoretically speaking of course, that you were born with a tail and could change into a giant monkey during a full moon?”

“I didn’t tell her about the Great Ape thing…” Gohan mumbled, taking a large bite of his chicken.

“Oh dude, you probably should tell Videl in case your kid has a tail,” Yamcha said, earnestly. “Like, it looks like Trunks and Goten didn’t inherit it, but I guess it’s still possible cause of genetics, yeah? Don’t want any surprises.”

“We’re not having kids!”

“Well, that’s not a decision you can make on your own,” Krillin shook his head. “You need to talk about that together. You know, since you’re a couple.”

“We’re not a couple!” Gohan hissed, turning around and marching away, before shooting over his shoulder. “And don’t you dare tell her about the monkey thing!”

Annoyed, Gohan stomped off to a small clearing of tulips. He sensed the familiar ki energy of Piccolo and was relieved to see the Namekian mediating.

“Mind if I sit here?” he asked and was answered with a noise Gohan knew meant yes.

Gohan relaxed against the grass, taking large bites of his chicken as he scanned the party, eyes finally landing on Videl sitting with Bulma and Chichi chatting excitedly.

“I heard your conversation with Krillin,” Piccolo said, eyes still closed. “I don’t really care to hear about whatever arrangement you two have, but you shouldn’t lie to yourself.”

Gohan continued chewing when the sound of Videl's laugh echoed to his clearing. His heart gives a weird little lurch, and he feels like the world’s biggest moron. Not having an answer for himself or Piccolo, he swallowed his chicken, staring at his plate in silence.

“Or her.”

Wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, Gohan put the paper plate to the side on the grass. Pulling up his legs to his chest, he continued to watch Videl chat lively with everyone at the party.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Videl has a surprise, but Gohan is wary.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, remember when I went on hiatus and totally forgot to update this fic for a year? Well, here you go. One of my 2018 goals is to finally wrap this story up. Also, enjoy all the Gohan-Has-Bad-Vision jokes I make in this chapter, cause there's a lot of them.

“I’m sorry, you wanna what now?”

Videl frowned, slamming her locker loudly as she turned to Gohan, “I told you, we’re heading to Bulma’s after school today.”

Gohan opened his mouth as if to say something. Then closed it, waiting only a second before he opened it a second time. Pausing, and then shut it again. Videl leaned against her locker, eyebrow raised as she waited for him to relearn how to speak. Eventually, he landed on a word.

“Why?”

“Because I need to pick up something.”

She ducked under his arm, reaching behind only to take hold of his hand so she could drag him to their last class of the day. If she had to deal with his annoying questions, they could at least do it on the way to Chemistry so she wouldn’t be late.

“You know that’s not a real answer,” Gohan said, his voice lowered as he intertwined their fingers together, allowing her to lead him down the crowded hallway. What was just simply a show of a facade came so easy now. “What have you and Bulma been planning?”

 _Behind my back_ , Videl can hear beneath his tone. She couldn’t help but smile, secretly loving how much it was bothering him how easily she’s been sneaking into his once very private life.

“What kind of something?” he asked, eyebrow raised.

“Something only Bulma can provide.”

“Your vagueness is making me uneasy.” Gohan sighed, face twisting as they walked through the classroom door. They were early for once. “Why are you being so secretive?”

“Code Chobi.”

“Hey! C’mon, that’s not even close to a fair Chobi call!”

“Ha! That’s hilarious coming from you.” Videl turned around to face him with a smile. He was still pouting and it was making her want to tease him more. “And it’s not a secret.”

“Then what is it then that you can’t tell me?”

Videl squeezed his hand, “A surprise.”

Chemistry was the only class where they didn’t sit anywhere near each other, so Videl turned to take her seat next to Erasa. Next to her, Gohan turned to find his seat in the back of the lab, mumbling under his breath about the unfairness of her Code Chobi.

He was cute when he was frustrated.

“Hey,” she said and when he turned to answer her, she quickly lifted herself on her toes to peck him briskly on the lips. Some of their classmates in the back of the room hooted and hollered, which Videl would find obnoxious if it wasn’t so expected. She even heard some jerk in the back hiss, “Get a room!”

It was light contact, but enough to make Gohan as red as a tomato. Not knowing how else to respond she turned around and sat next to Erasa. Behind her, she heard the scratching of a chair against the linoleum. The class went back to its normal chatting as if nothing had happened.

Looking across, she saw Erasa smiling at her fondly, chin resting in her hand.

“What?!” Videl barked feeling face heat up.

In response, her friend reached out and grabbed her flushed cheek between her thumb and forefinger. “You’re adooooooorable!”

Erasa yelped when Videl made a motion to bite her fingers right when their teacher walked into through the door. Instantly the class fell silent as he began to write the agenda for today’s class on the board. She pulled away, Erasa’s fingers saved as she pulled out her notebook and pencil to begin taking notes.

She felt a stare at the back of her head for the entire class.

* * *

After the last bell rang, Videl made her way to the roof of the school where Gohan was already waiting for her. Somewhere along the way, this has become their unspoken meeting place. Most likely due to the fact that they could fly from here without any of the other students or faculty noticing. Although Videl had a suspicion it was a leftover habit from when Gohan was still trying to hide his Great Saiyaman adventures.

Gohan quickly saw her when she entered the doorway, sending her a small smile. The smile she had come to learn meant, _‘Something is bothering me, but because of my years repressing trauma I’m just going to smile instead of actually talking about my feelings.’_

“Hey,” he said, voice soft. “You wanna head over-”

“I’m sorry about the kiss!” Videl blurted because in addition to completely lacking any luck with romance she also lost anything resembling social skill. “It wasn’t fair and I was trying to be coy, but it was without your permission and I apologize.”

She couldn’t face him, so she stared down at her shoes like a coward. God, she really messed up now. Just when things were feeling good between them she had to go and pull a stunt like that and…

And then he tapped her on the head.

Like with his fingers.

What the hell?

She looked up at him, confused and frowning. He was smiling now, a real smile that reached his eyes and crinkled at the corners. Videl loved that look, it melted her heart and made her knees feel weak. She wanted to be the cause of that look forever.

“It’s alright,” he said. “I already told you - whatever you want to do, I’ll do. Okay?”

Her posture straightened and her stomach dropped as if she had just gone over the edge of a roller coaster.

Right, they weren’t really dating. He was just playing along with the game she had gotten them into.

It was all fake.

“Yeah,” she said, forcing herself to push through with a smile of her own. “Okay.”

“Cool, now we should really head over to Bulma’s before it gets too late,” he said, lifting off the ground effortlessly. “Although, you could make it up to me by telling me what it is we’re picking up?”

“Ha! And reveal my Code Chobi so soon?” she stuck her tongue at him before blasting next him in the sky, “Fat chance.”

“Worth a shot.” He shrugged, “Wanna race to Capsule Corp?”

“Wow, you must be in a mood to lose today!”

“Funny - okay, ready? Set -” he said before zipping off ahead of her. “GO!”

“SON GOHAN, YOU CHEATER!”

* * *

When Videl reached Capsule Corp, the first thing she did was punch Gohan in the arm and the second thing she did was give Bulma a hug.

“It’s not you, Saiyans are competitive to a fault,” Bulma assured, flicking some of her cigarette ash in Gohan’s direction. “Even though I thought you were one of the good ones, Gohan.”

“He’s not, all men are cruel. Especially the aliens.”

“You get used to it. Let me cheer you up,” Bulma linked her arm with Videl’s and led her down the hallway towards her workshop. She waved her free hand as she spoke, drawing in smoke to illustrate her points. “I just finished up the prototype this morning. I think you’re going to love it.”

“Prototype of what?”

“Yeah, a prototype of what?” came an echo and they turned around to see Trunks and Goten turn the corner and run up from the rear. Trunks instantly was at his mother’s side.

“Mom is it -” he paused, eyeing Gohan before looking back at her. “ _That_ surprise.”

Bulma shushed him, untangling herself from Videl's arm and ruffling her son's hair as she entered the workshop. Videl felt Goten run to her side, taking hold of her hand to pull her down so he could whisper in her ear.

“Trunks and I peaked - it’s really cool.” he grinned, running off to follow Trunks. Videl smiled, ignoring when Gohan raised a skeptical eyebrow at her. A few moments later, Bulma returned with a small jewelry box in hand.

“Gohan, take a look at your Saiyaman watch,” she said, motioning to his wrist. “It should have just downloaded an update.”

“Seriously?” Gohan shook his wrist from his sleeve and pressed the red button eagerly. In a flash of light, he was instantly dressed in his usual Saiyaman costume, however, the sunglasses and headscarf were replaced with the old orange helmet. “It feels pretty familiar. What was the update?”

The visor on the helmet instantly lit up with a low blue color, startling Goten and Trunks who jumped into the air.

 _“Initiating vital scans.”_ The voice of an automated AI chimed cheerily as the visor in front of Gohan’s face lit up with graphics and charts. “ _Vital scan complete. Good afternoon, Great Saiyaman. Today’s weather is comfortable 25 degrees Celsius, with a drop later tonight."_

“Holy crap, you’re Iron Man!” Trunks exclaimed, floating to inspect Gohan’s helmet with Goten. “You have your own J.A.R.V.I.S.!”

“Close, but its name is APOLLO,” Bulma explained and the boys looked absolutely gobsmacked.

Trunks turned back to the helmet, “What else does it do?!”

_“Great Saiyaman, it appears you are exhibiting signs of nearsightedness. Have you considered a trip to the Optometrist?”_

“Woah, it’s like if Mom was in your head, but, like, as a robot,” Goten said, giving a nervous knock to the top of the helmet. “And I guess on your head instead of inside it.”

“Yeah, that’s nuts,” Trunk agreed and turned to his mother. “Are you gonna use APOLLO to give all Gohan’s vitals to his Mom so she can see if he’s eating his broccoli and stuff?”

“No, but I could.”

“Wow, I guess it is dangerous to fight crime. I’m glad I’m not a superhero,” Goten said turning to Trunks who nodded in agreement.

“Yeah, what a nark.”

Gohan grumbled something under his breath and adjusted the settings through the visors.

“If APOLLO freaks you out, you can double tap the face of the watch, it’ll change from the helmet to the headwrap,” Bulma laughed before turning to Videl, handing her the jewelry box.

“Here you go,” she said with a wink. “I got the feeling you wouldn’t want anything too fancy, so I kept it as a similar model with a few adjustments based on what we talked about. It’s also using the same communicator tech that you have with the police station from your old watch.”

Videl nodded and opened the box slowly as if she was unearthing a sacred treasure. Bulma wasn’t kidding when she said it wasn’t fancy, as what greeted her was a simple silver watch with three buttons on the outer side of the face. Blowing a puff of smoke out the side of her mouth, Bulma explained the buttons.

“The red one in the middle transforms you. Press once to transform and again to untransform,” she pointed to the top button. “The one up top lets you open a communicator with the other watch and the one on the bottom is an emergency button. It’ll let the other know you’re in trouble and exact location if you’re ever separated.” Bulma paused, taking one last drag before snuffing it out on an ashtray. “I’m not sure how much use it’ll be to you since you can sense each other's energies, but you never know.”

“Wait…” Gohan slowly, lifting up his helmet to look at Videl. “Don’t tell me that-”

“Yes!” Videl grinned, pressing the button and in a flash of light was dressed in her new costume. “SUPRISE!”

The pink cape rolled out behind her, connecting to the turquoise tunic wrapped around her. Underneath was a thin spandex full bodysuit that Bulma had explained was the modeled from the armor that Saiyans used and was same material she used for Vegeta’s gear.

Videl hurried to the mirror to see her helmet and gushed. It was rounder than Gohan's, white with a small heart on the front. Her hair was still short enough to be be covered, but it wasn't too snug to need to avoid a messy bun if she were to ever grow it back out. Tapping the side of the ear covering, her visor lit up brightly.

 _“Welcome, I am ARTEMIS. Initiating vital scans.”_ The AI in her helmet chimed, this voice clearly designed to be female. In front of her eyes, Videl saw charts and graphs appear that showed her such things as how high her heart rate was and how many steps she had taken that day. _“Vital scan complete. System setup activated. Please announce your civilian name.”_

“VIDEL SATAN!” Trunks and Goten screamed in unison, starling Videl who didn’t know they were floating above her.

“Hey!” Videl swatted the boys away with her glove. “Get your own superhero helmet!”

“Boys, stop interfering with the System Setup for Videl’s superhero helmet!” Bulma scolded and both the boys landed at Videl’s feet.

“Sorry,” Goten said, looking up at Videl’s visor. “Got a little excited.”

 _“Videl Satan confirmed,”_ said the AI and Videl saw her name pass across the screen. _“Please announce alternative identity.”_

“Hmm, that’s a good question,” she said, resting her hand on her hip. “I thought of a few but none of them seemed to work.”

“What about Ultra Sayiagirl?” Trunks offered. “Or Super Saiyan Girl?”

“No, It definitely needs to have Great in the title,” she winked. "Gotta have good branding. But Great Super Saiyan Girl is a bit of a mouthful, and I’m not a Super Saiyan.”

“Maybe you don’t want to give away your sex in the name,” Bulma offered with a shrug. “Seems a bit regressive.”

“Good point.”

“What about something easy to remember like Great Saiyaman 2?” Goten offered, pointing in Gohan’s direction. “He’s original and you’re the sequel.”

“Hmmm…that kind of works,” Videl bit her bottom lip as she thought. Then she closed her eyes, took a deep breath and spun, her cape soaring in the air. “Goddess of Peace...I am...Great Saiyaman 2!”

A beat of silence and then a snort. Videl looked to see Trunks snickering behind his hand.

“Yup, that’s perfect,” he grinned. “Just as goofy as what Gohan does.”

“It’s not goofy,” Videl pouted and finally turning to where Gohan was standing, helmet still in his hands. “C’mon Gohan, tell them this is cool”

Gohan was silent as he moved towards her, his steps echoing throughout the lab as his feet were made of iron. When he got to the mirror where she stood, she saw the two of them in the reflection. She with her new outfit and bright pink cape and Gohan staring right at her. Videl’s heart skipped a beat as she recognized the look.

He was pissed.

“You’re not doing this,” he said, voice even. “Give Bulma back the watch.”

“Excuse me?” Videl scoffed. Reading the room, Goten and Trunks sped out, leaving the two of them alone with Bulma who was less impressed by a few harsh words exchanged between people. She was married to Vegeta, after all. “Since when do you tell me what I can or can’t do?”

“Since you decided to make decisions like this without telling me.”

“It was a surprise,” Videl said the word slowly as if hearing it said another way would somehow make more sense to him. “I thought you’d be excited to have a partner in this? Now I can help you without having to follow you from behind or with my jet!”

“You can follow me and get yourself hurt.”

Okay, now _she_ was pissed.

“Hurt doing the same thing I do all the time, but with a helmet on! The same thing you used to follow me out of class to come crash before I found out your identity!” she argued, the heat in her voice as she pointed her index finger into his chest. “What the hell is your problem?!”

“Listen to me,” he said, taking the hand that was poking him into his. “It’s just...different when you have the helmet on.”

Videl was about to throw out more vicious words when their visors began to ring an alarm.

_“Emergency! Bank robbery in progress!”_

“Saved by the bell,” Videl said, pulling her hand away and turning to the balcony at the end of Bulma’s workshop. “Thank you so much for the suit, Bulma. I appreciate the effort, even if _someone_ doesn’t.”

“Videl, that’s obviously not what I meant.”

“ARTEMIS, put the coordinates of the robbery on my visor,” she sent a look of rage at Gohan over her shoulder, “And input my identity as Great Saiyaman 2.”

_“Right away, Great Saiyaman 2.”_

Without another word, Videl flew out into the sky, with Gohan close behind calling after her.

As they both flew out the window, Bulma sighed, pulled a cigarette from the pack on her desk and lit it between her lips.

“Teenagers,” she sighed, blowing smoke into the room.

* * *

It didn’t take Videl long to find the bank, and it would’ve taken even less time if she wasn’t so distracted by Gohan trying to fly in front of her or stop her. Once they got close to where the robbery was located, he seemed to have given up and had fallen a bit behind to give her some space.

When she landed, Videl looked and saw the familiar face of Police Captain Owen. Turning to the walkie on his shoulder, he mumbled something into it and made his way towards where she stood.

“Who are you?” he demanded, hand hovering over the gun on his hip. “Are you with the perps?”

Videl swallowed hard and cleared her throat. After her fight with Gohan, she didn’t have a chance to prepare her grand hero debut. Also, she too late realized, Captain Owen knew her voice and could probably identify her underneath her disguise if she didn’t play her cards right.

“No, Captain Owen, I am not,” Videl said, deepening her voice in hopes to sound more authoritative and unrecognizable.

“Oh? Then who are you?”

“Well...uh...I’m...uh…”

“They’re Great Saiyaman 2, Captain,” came a voice and Videl looked up to see Gohan - well, in this case, Great Saiyaman - land next to them. Arms crossed and frowning he turned to the bank that was still closed. “And they’re with me. Now, what’s the situation?”

Captain Owen looked between Videl and Gohan, scratching his bald head under his hat, “Well, we have a hostage situation in the bank. Three of ‘em. Turns out the robbers are a duo of the Red Shark Gang and they’re armed to the teeth. We’ve been keeping in touch with them in hopes they can let them go, but no dice.”

“Captain! We got contact again!”

The walkie on his shoulder beeped and Captain Owen nodded and took the megaphone handed to him by another officer. “This is Captain Owen of the Satan City Police department,” he called into the device. “Have you reconsidered your position?”

The front door of the bank opened, and a man in a black ski mask with a gun in his hand poked his head out and yelled, “HELL NO!” before slamming it.

“Well, looks like he can’t be reasoned with,” Videl said, turning to Captain Owen. “Let us handle it, sir.”

Captain Owen nodded and Videl and Gohan jumped to the roof. From there perch, they could still hear the police still trying to negotiate from the ground below.

“Smooth entrance,” Gohan noted as Videl brushed by him, trying to locate the entrance from the roof. “ _Uh...I’m...uh…_ would be a great alto-ego if Great Saiyaman 2 doesn’t work out.”

“Shut up,” she hissed, pulling the door open from the roof only to find it to be locked. “If you’re going to be hovering over me, at least make yourself useful and open this.”

With less than a tug, the door was freed from its lock.

“Lucky for us, all the alarms were killed by the crooks. Which reminds me,” Gohan noted, turning to Videl. “What’s your plan here?”

“I was...well,” Videl blushed turning away, quickly realizing that with all her gusto, along with not preparing an introduction, she also had no plan. Gohan sighed, leaning back so his hand was on his hip. She could feel his judgment through his visor. “Shut up!”

“I didn’t even say anything this time.”

Videl crouched into the doorway, tapping the outside of her helmet. “ARTEMIS, scan the layout of the bank and locate all life inside.”

 _“Yes, Great Saiyaman 2, processing now.”_ Videl saw a scan of the bank appear before her eyes. It was a single floor, with both gunmen by the windows and all three hostages located behind the teller desk. _“I have marked that there are two armed suspects in the vicinity.”_

“Great just like the Captain said, which means whatever guns those are probably customized to carry a lot more heat than a revolver.” Videl bit her lip as she looked at the layout. “Looks like we have a break and this hallway leads right to the teller desk. So, if one of us distracts the gunman, the other can save the hostages.”

She turned to Gohan, holding her fist out with a smile, “Wanna janken for who gets the bad guys?” He shoved past her.

“No, I’ll get them,” he said over his shoulder, his visor lightening up with the floor scan. “You wanna do this so bad, it’s your show.”

Videl huffed as he made his way down the steps. She floated above the ceiling, out of sight of the gunmen and the hostages. After a few moments, her visor lit up with a countdown of the hostages Gohan had saved - currently, all three were still in danger. She had to work fast to give him enough time to get them all out.

“Hey, creep shows!” she called, gaining both men’s attention. One was a skinny bald guy with a bandana around his face, and the second was the same masked man who yelled from the door. Instantly she had two rifles pointed directly at her. “Wow, do you solve all problems the same way?”

“Depends on who’s askin’?” the masked man snarled. “What’re ya, Great Saiyaman’s sister?”

“Or girlfriend?” slithered the other man, pointing at her chest with his gun with a smirk. “We can tell you’re a cutie from how your outfit hugs your delicious curves, baby.”

Videl felt her temper boil, but the blinking in her visor that Gohan was in the midst of saving the first hostage grounded her. She needed to give him time. Huffing out her chest, she positioned her hands on her hips in a wide stance.

“Aha! No, both of those are wrong!” she bellowed, suppressing her embarrassment as she spun around. “I am...the goddess of peace….”

“Ahuh….” the gunmen nodded as she jumped into the air.

“The warrior for the weary…” her visor beeped. One hostage was freed, now Gohan was working on the second.

“Yeah.”

She broke into a backflip-back-handspring, “The hope for the hopeless…”

Both men crocked an eyebrow, watching her land. Her visor beeped again, and Gohan was taking the last hostage.

“The savior of Satan City…”

As she landed, her visor flashed green - Gohan had gotten all the hostages to safety. She grinned widely, landing on a warrior pose. “I am Great Saiyaman 2!”

She heard applause and at first thought it was the gunmen, which would’ve been weird (but not unappreciated.) Looking up, she saw it was Gohan who landed next to her.

“With the original,” he struck a similar warrior pose. “Great Saiyaman!”

This was so nerdy and stupid. Her heart could’ve burst.

If a year ago Videl told herself that she would be dressed up in spandex and cape to beat up members of the Red Shark Gang, she would’ve passed out laughing. Now here she was.

Love really did make you do crazy things.

“Now are you going to go quietly or are we going to have to take you down ourselves?” Videl asked, standing tall.

The masked gunman lifted his rifle, “HELL NO!”

Bullets sprayed the room, and lucky Videl dashed out of the way quick enough to dodge them. Jumping behind a turned over table, her visor flashed possible escape routes around the swarm of bullets. None of which looked likely until the shooter was unarmed.

“Yous better give up now if you want these hostages to survive!”

“Oh yeah?” Gohan asked, taking hold of his gun with his index and middle finger. “You may want to look again, chump.”

“Boss!” came the hiss of the gunman as he looked over the teller desk. “They hostages! They gone!”

“Shit!” the masked man yelled, desperately trying to press the trigger. His fat hands stumbled with the butt of the gun, giving Gohan enough time to pull it from him, twisting it into a pretzel before smashing him in the face with it.

“Great Saiyaman 2!”

“Got it!”

Videl jumped from the table, roundhouse kicking the bandana-wearing criminal into the wall. He was knocked out cold before he hit the ground. When her visor flashed green, she turned to Gohan to shoot him a thumbs up.

“All clear!”

“T-think again,” came a grumble and Videl turned around to see the masked man leaning against a chair, pulling a handgun from his jacket. “Say goodbye, bitch.”

Gohan was instantly behind him, sending a punch to the gun that knocked him out, but after he pressed the trigger. Videl tried to dodge, but in the dark messy room, she felt the hot lead of the bullet graze her shoulder and crashed into the wall. Her ears rang from the shot and the light from her visor flashed before her eyes.

“VID-”

“NO!” Videl shouted, refusing to be unmasked on her first day. She pressed a hand over her shoulder and felt the blood warm her glove. “DON’T!”

Gohan froze and looked at her. She could tell by the way his visor was lit that he was scanning her vitals. ARTEMIS did the same on her own visor. After a few moments, it confirmed what she already knew - that the bullet had grazed her, but it was simply a deep cut.

“See, it’s nothing,” she said, removing her now bloodstained glove to grab both unconscious men by the collar. “Now let’s bring these men to Captain Owen.”

After bringing both men into custody, Videl saw the flashing lights of local news reporters rushing to the caution tape. Not wanting her first debut to be her looking bloodied and ragged, Videl jumped into the sky, giving a fond farewell to those still on the ground.

In the air, she couldn’t help but let out a nervous laugh as she spun through the dusky clouds.

“That was amazing! It was so exhilarating to help the police and the suits Bulma designed are out of this world!” she gushed, spinning. “ARTEMIS is such a smart AI and it’s so helpful that it can scan the room and-OOMPH!”

She flew face-first into Gohan’s chest. Looking up, she saw his cold stare from underneath his helmet. “Gohan? What are you-”

He wrapped an arm around her, pinning her in place as he double-tapped the face of his watch. Instantly his helmet vanished and was replaced with the headwrap and sunglasses he had worn at the World Tournament. In a swift motion, he pulled the wrap from his head and spun it around Videl’s still bleeding arm, creating a makeshift bandage.

“Oh...thanks,” she said, trying to hide her blush. “It wasn’t that serious, though.”

“No, it was,” Gohan replied, and with ease reached to grab hold of her wrist to quickly press the red button on her watch. A blast of light surrounded them and quickly Videl was back in the jeans and long-sleeves she wore to school that day.

“Wait! What the hell are you doing?” Videl demanded when Gohan unhooked her watch and pulled it from her wrist. “Give that back!”

He flew back quickly as she broke from his hold and lunged for the watch, dodging her easily. Quickly growing frustrated, Videl attempted to throw a kick but got nothing but air. She glared at him from beneath her bangs, doing her best to hold back tears.

She reached her hands out towards him, her palms glowing yellow as the ki-blast formed. He remained motionless, both of them knowing her small blast of ki would do nothing more than char his clothing. Releasing it with a sob, it flew up and completely missed him before she threw an exhausted punch that he caught one-handed.

“Why?” Videl demanded, pushing against his hold in an effort she knew was futile to get her watch back. She'd always prided herself on being an unstoppable force, but he was an immovable object. “Why won’t you let me be apart of this?”

Gohan let her go and pressed his own red button to relinquish his mask. Videl took another swing at him and he caught her other hand and intertwined both their fingers. Her cheeks flushed with exertion, embarrassment, and something else. They floated in midair that way, hand-in-hand in heavy silence.

“When you aren’t wearing a mask, they’re too scared to shoot you. You’re the daughter of their savior, even those with the darkest of hearts have a hard time pulling the trigger on you,” Gohan finally said. He looked down at her with such a soft expression that if Videl didn’t know better, she would think he was doing it on purpose. But he wasn’t. This was just how Gohan was - earnest, careful, gentle.

“When you put on this helmet and give yourself an alternate identity, you lose that. Now, you’re a no-named, no-faced, nobody who they have no problem shooting. Bullet bounce off me, but not you.” He placed a hand on her newly bandaged arm. “Because I can’t see you get hurt….not again.”

A moment passed between them before Videl sighed, “So...you’re seriously doing this to me again?”

Now it was Gohan’s turn to look shocked, but she pushed through.

“If you haven’t noticed, I was chasing these bad guys way before you came on the scene. And yeah, they still shot at me, even if they knew whose daughter I was. Hell, sometimes they shot more because of it.” She ripped her hand away from his, reeling back. “I thought we were getting somewhere, Gohan. Like you were finally opening up to me and we were getting closer.”

“That’s not what I mean-”

“Then what _do_ you mean?” she shouted, this time not fighting back the tears. “The Code Chobis, the fake dating, the suit - you know what this is, right? You can’t be that stupid! You have to see what I’ve been giving you all this time, don’t you?”

She waited, but he was still silent. The tears broke, but she turned away, refusing to show him her insecurity. Her pain.

“Right, of course, you obviously do,” she sighed. “I guess, you just...don't want me as a partner...in any sense.”

“Videl, wait!” he shouted, but she had already powered up and flown off. Through the clouds and the sky which she loved so much.

Almost as much as she loved the boy who taught her how to soar.

**Author's Note:**

> Find me over at Astrolatte.tumblr.com to coo over these two dorks.


End file.
